sultan | Search Online Etymology Dictionary

8 entries found.

1550s, from French sultan "ruler of Turkey" (16c.), ultimately from Arabic (Semitic) sultan "ruler, prince, monarch, king, queen," originally "power, dominion." According to Klein's sources, this is from Aramaic shultana "power," from shelet "have power." Earlier English word was soldan, soudan (c. 1300), used indiscriminately of Muslim rulers and sovereigns, from Old French souldan, soudan, from Medieval Latin sultanus. Related: Sultanic.

sultana (n.)

wife, mother, daughter, or concubine of a sultan, 1580s, from Italian sultana, fem. of sultano (see sultan). Middle English had soudanesse "sultaness" (late 14c.).

sultanate (n.)

1794, from sultan + -ate (1).

fez (n.)

1802, from French fez, from Turkish fes, probably ultimately from Fez, the city in Morocco, where this type of tasseled cap was principally made. Made part of the Turkish official dress by sultan Mahmud II.

Saladin

Sultan of Egypt and Syria from 1174-93, target of the Third Crusade (1189-1192); in full Salah-ad-din Yusuf ibn-Ayyub (1137-1193).

Afghan

name of the people of Afghanistan, 1784, properly only the Durani Afghans; of uncertain origin. The name is first attested in Arabic in al-'Utbi's "History of Sultan Mahmud" written c.1030 C.E. and was in use in India from 13c. Old Afghan chronicles trace the name to a legendary Afghana, son of Jeremiah, son of Israelite King Saul, from whom they claimed descent. In English, attested from 1833 as a type of blanket or wrap short for Afghan shawl); 1877 as a type of carpet; 1895 as a breed of hunting dog; 1973 as a style of sheepskin coat.

seraglio (n.)

1580s, in reference to Muslim lands, "the part of the dwelling where the women are secluded," also the name of a former palace of the sultan in Istanbul, which contained his harem; from Italian seraglio, alteration of Turkish saray "palace, court," from Persian sara'i "palace, inn." This is from the Iranian base *thraya- "to protect" (source also of Avestan thrayeinti "they protect"), from PIE *tra-, a variant form of the root *tere- (2) "cross over, pass through, overcome."

The Italian word probably reflects folk etymology influence of serraglio "enclosure, cage," from Medieval Latin serraculum "bung, stopper" (see serried). Sometimes in English in early use serail, via French sérail, which is from the Italian word. The meaning "inmates of a harem" is attested by 1630s.

Turk (n.)

c. 1300, from French Turc, from Medieval Latin Turcus, from Byzantine Greek Tourkos, Persian turk, a national name, of unknown origin. Said to mean "strength" in Turkish. Compare Chinese tu-kin, recorded from c. 177 B.C.E. as the name of a people living south of the Altai Mountains (identified by some with the Huns). In Persian, turk, in addition to the national name, also could mean "a beautiful youth," "a barbarian," "a robber."

In English, the Ottoman sultan was the Grand Turk (late 15c.), and the Turk was used collectively for the Turkish people or for Ottoman power (late 15c.). From 14c. and especially 16c.-18c. Turk could mean "a Muslim," reflecting the Turkish political power's status in the Western mind as the Muslim nation par excellence. Hence Turkery "Islam" (1580s); turn Turk "convert to Islam."

Meaning "person of Irish descent" is first recorded 1914 in U.S., apparently originating among Irish-Americans; of unknown origin (Irish torc "boar, hog" has been suggested). Young Turk (1908) was a member of an early 20c. political group in the Ottoman Empire that sought rejuvenation of the Turkish nation. Turkish bath is attested from 1640s; Turkish delight from 1877.

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